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A paddywagon is a police vehicle used to transport prisoners, often associated with large transport vans. The term originates from early 20th century America and is linked to misconceptions about the Irish. The term “black mary” is also used. Paddywagons can be useful for law enforcement agencies for protests and traffic control, and damaging them can result in severe penalties.
A paddywagon is a police vehicle. The term is often used specifically to refer to large transport vans designed to house crowds of prisoners. However, technically any type of motor vehicle driven by the police can be called a paddywagon. The term is used extensively in the United States and Australia as well as parts of Great Britain.
The origins of the word appear to lie in early 20th century America. There are three competing theories for the roots of the ‘paddywagon’. The first two are more likely, as they link the term to early American misconceptions about the Irish, who were known as “the rice paddies”, probably in reference to St. Patrick’s. According to one theory, paddywagons were so named because many police forces had large numbers of Irish members, so a “paddywagon” was a vehicle driven by an Irish man. In the other case, a “paddywagon” was used to transport large numbers of drunken and rowdy Irishmen.
Some people have suggested that the term may refer to the padding that was used to upholster a paddywagon, ensuring that prisoners were not injured in transit. Most etymologists believe this theory to be incorrect, as it seeks to transform ‘paddy’ into ‘padding’, when the use of ‘paddy’ as a slang term for the Irish is already well known. This type of posterior formation is usually called “folk etymology”.
Another term for paddywagon is “black mary”, another phrase with interesting and often debated origins. In the sense of a black maria, a paddywagon is usually specifically a transport van, painted dark blue or black and used to round up unruly members of the public. In any case, a paddywagon is generally something to be avoided, and the appearance of such a vehicle usually causes a crowd to quickly disperse.
For protests and other large, unruly crowds, a large police van can be a useful tool for law enforcement agencies, as it allows a police force to transport multiple prisoners without committing an assortment of police cars. Paddywagons in the form of cars and light trucks can also be used for traffic control, as they can block traffic quite effectively, thus funneling cars and people in the desired direction. Civilians should be aware that in some countries there are severe penalties for damaging a paddywagon of any kind, as it is considered an assault on the police force itself.
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